Related articles

Police seized his phone and are believed to have found a reference to the sale of four Kalishnikov rifles to “Arabs in Paris”, N-TV reported.

News of the arrest comes after police seized a shipment of 800 shotguns moving from Turkey to Belgium, two countries linked to recent Islamic State-inspired terror plots, sparking fears weapons are continuing to be smuggled across Europe.

It remains unclear where the cache of weapons was heading but authorities in Italy, where the haul was discovered, warned of the risk that it could end up in ISIS' hands.

GETTY

People walk past a military truck near Grand Place, Brussels

GETTY

Pump action shotgun

GETTY

People stand in front of a house damaged during clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish militants

The shipment of 781 Winchester SXP pump-action shotguns - described as the fastest pump-action rifles on the market - was intercepted in the northeastern city of Trieste, close to the border with Slovenia.

Pump-action rifles are made for hunting and are not considered assault weapons, but were found after police had "substantially" increased their border inspections in the wake of the Paris attacks and subsequent alert in Belgium.

Lt Gen Gabriele Baron said the shipment had not been properly declared to authorities under laws aimed at preventing arms trafficking.

Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam shot & arrested

Fri, March 18, 2016

The most wanted IS memember Salah Abdeslam has been wounded in a counter terrorism raid in Brussels, said to be linked to last year's Paris attacks, in which 130 people died.